Don Lemon did not hold back in his first interview since being fired from CNN. Speaking to ABC 24, the journalist and news anchor slammed his former employer for their controversial choice in guests, and revealed the next steps of his career.
“I have a responsibility not only as a journalist, but as an American, to tell the truth,” Lemon said, per People. “And to abide by the promises of the Constitution, because the Constitution says a more perfect union. Not a perfect union.”
He continued, “I’m not a perfect person. No one is. In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth.”
But his passion for “telling the truth” seems to have put him at odds with the network’s style of reporting.
He slammed CNN for “platforming liars and bigots and insurrectionists and election deniers, and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth, people who are fighting for what’s right.”
Lemon was fired in April after working at the network for almost 17 years. Prior to his departure, he co-hosted CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins; the show has continued in his absence.
Former CNN CEO Chris Licht announced Lemon’s firing in April, after which the host confirmed the news in a candid post to Twitter, where he wrote, “I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”
Lemon’s statement continued, “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”
The CNN Communications Twitter account released a statement soon after, stating Lemon’s claims of how his firing transpired were “inaccurate.”
For now, Lemon asserted on ABC 24 that he isn’t “in a rush” to figure out what’s next for for him, saying, “I’m not going to force anything. I’m not going to let other people’s timeline influence me.
“I’m not worried at all,” he added. “People are concerned about me, and are more worried about me than I am about myself. I’m fine.”